Family Matters
by sunshine-lime167
Summary: Brian's learning to deal with the crazy life led by his son and daughter-in-law but nothing he's seen so far could prepare him for this. What happens when Brian meets Amy and Rory's strange friend with the space hair? "Something's going on here and I would like to know what! Is anyone going to tell me?" (Set after the anniversary party in TPOT)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or its characters. I only day-dream about them. **

**And the title comes from CBS's show of the same name. **

_9:53_

"How did it get to be so late?" Brian thought to himself as he put the last of the dishes away.

It had been a long week. He had planned this anniversary party for Amy and Rory in hopes to help them forget about the not so present Doctor, at least for a while. He wanted them to feel as if they had somewhat normal lives. But before he knew it, the mad alien was back to take his son and daughter-in-law with him. So much for normal lives.

After the party, Brian insisted that Amy and Rory relax and that he would clean up. Now that all the washing up was done all he could think about was heading off to bed. That was until he remembered what a certain bow-tie wearing alien had told him earlier that night.

"So, where did you two go for 7 weeks?" asked Brian as he entered the living room.

"I don't know what you're talking about" said Rory, looking up from his wife.

"The Doctor told me"

"Well of course he did" added Amy sarcastically.

Rory looked back at Amy and they seemed to be having a conversation of their own, without words. Amy apparently won the stare-down because Rory then turned to face his dad. After sitting back and taking a long, deep, sigh, he finally said, "How 'bout you take a seat. This could take a while."

"Well, first he took us to Paris…" Rory started.

An hour later, all 3 "Ponds" were sitting in the living room in a fit of laughter as Amy tried to explain the prince of Colonia's reaction to his mother turning blue. Right as she reached the climax of the story, they heard a sizzling sound followed by a pop. Amy quickly stopped, mid-sentence, and looked at Rory. He turned to her and mirrored her expression. It was a mixture of fear, horror, shock and delight. Brian was just about to ask what was going on when a voice rang down the hall.

"Mum, Dad, I know it's late but I just wanted to wish you happy anni…versary." River's voice dropped almost to a whisper when she entered the living room and saw Brian starring at her like a complete stranger.

"Um… I'm sorry. I just let myself in. Didn't know you had company" River said looking from Amy to Rory, trying to figure out what exactly to do next.

"Right… that's fine River. Come on in." relied Rory, hesitantly.

Brian stood up as if waiting to be introduced. River didn't waste any time. She walked straight over to him and held out her hand with a kind smile as she said, "I'm River, River Song. I'm an old friend of Amy and Rory's. You must be Brian. Rory's told me so much about you I feel as if I know you already."

"Pleased to meet you Ms. Song…"

"River, please…" River interrupted.

"Of course. I hope it's good things you've heard about me." He said to River. Turning to Amy and Rory he asked, "Where do you know her from?"

They exchanged a few looks before Amy finally blurted out, "The Doctor, she's a friend of the Doctor's. Yep. We met her on some of the trips we went on. Didn't we?"

River and Rory both nodded, agreeing with the cover story chosen.

"But I thought she said she was an _old_ friend" Brian questioned.

"Yes, well… you see…" Rory began but was thankfully interrupted by River. "That would be the time-travel. Not so easy to keep straight in your head."

"Ah, yes. I should say so. I once saw dinosaurs… on a _spaceship_!" Brian leaned in closer to whisper this last bit. River laughed as he pulled away. "Now that's one adventure I haven't heard yet. Would you be willing share that story Brian?"

"I would love to!"

And so for the second time that night, the "Ponds" (Now all 4 of them) sat around the living room laughing and just enjoying hearing and sharing stories of their adventures.

As the night went on, Brian watched this stranger, this River Song. He was not concerned about her motives of being here though if you were to be about anyone, it would be someone with her personality. But that was not what was bothering Brian. Earlier, when she arrived, Brian was sure he heard River call Amy and Rory "Mum and Dad" but he had just brushed it off when he heard she was a close friend. He figured it was a nickname between the three of them. But now, as he watched them interact, he could not help but wonder if there was something else.

While Brian was away in his thoughts the conversation was carrying on. Amy was trying to continue her description of the evil merchant they met in a Bazar on some far off planet. "He was extremely tall, had pitch black hair and _creepy _black eyes."

"Just my type of man sounds like. Did you get his number?" teased River.

"Shut up Mels!" Amy said without thinking. As soon as she realized what she had said, Amy quickly put her hand over her mouth, hoping Brian didn't hear. But he did. It was that which brought him back to reality.

"Did you just call her Mels?"

"Ummm… No?" Amy tried but to no avail.

"No, something's going on here and I would like to know what! Is anyone going to tell me?"

"Dad, calm down" Rory tried but Brian was not giving up so easily. "Are you sure you want to know?" Rory finally gave in.

"Yes" Brian relied, firmly.

Rory made a quick glance over to Amy and River, making sure it was fine with them before he went any further. "It's a long, hard and very very complicated story. How about you come over again tomorrow morning and we can start from the top? It's a bit too late for that now."

"Fine" Brian gave in. "But I'll be here first thing in the morning expecting answers."

They all agreed and Brian left soon after.

**A/N: So that's the end of the first chapter. This was a bit of a set up for what's coming next. Let me know what you think. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you guys for all favorites/followers. I am amazed by what a great response this has gotten. I was going to wait until next Saturday to post the next chapter but decided to go ahead with it because of this. So I'll just stop talking and get to the story. :-)**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Doctor Who or its charterers. :-(**

Once they saw Brian's car turn at the end of the street, the three of them made their way back into the house. Rory shut the door with a sigh. "What are we going to do?" he asked.

"We have to tell him" said Amy, stating the obvious.

"I know, but how? Do I just sit him down and say 'Dad, this woman, who is older than us and looks nothing like us, is your granddaughter. Oh and she's also Mels.'?"

"You'll think of a way" assured River. "I'm sorry I caused all this. I should have knocked or at least checked to see if you were alone."

"No, it's not your fault" Amy said, grabbing her hand. "He would've found out sooner or later. Plus, when have you ever knocked?"

"I think… I think if we're going to figure out what to tell my dad before tomorrow morning, I'm gonna need something for my head."

"I might have just the thing" River said, taking out a rapped bottle from her bag. She handed it to Rory who opened it to find a bottle of wine, a brand he had never heard of. "Happy Anniversary"

"Thanks River" Rory said, pulling River into a soft hug. "Amy's right. It wasn't your fault. It probably would have stayed at curiosity if _someone_ didn't blurt out a major _spoiler_" He whispered, eyeing his wife.

"_Oi!_ Let's stop pointing fingers and figure out what we're gonna say tomorrow."

"I've been thinking and I think I should be the one to tell him" said River.

"River, I don't… But he doesn't even know you."

"Dad, I know. Just listen to me. Brian wants to know who _I_ am so I tell him _my_ story. Plus my story might be a bit less confusing."

"That's not true."

"Amy, you didn't find out who I was until years after you first met me. Where would you start? At demons run and then jump to Berlin? And from there you would go to when you were 7 and then meeting me on the Byzantium? My life goes in that order but yours does not. Brian knows your life too well. I just think it's best if we start from a not so personal side for him."

Amy and Rory both agreed. They decided to move to the kitchen with the bottle to iron out the details. By 1 A.M. all the "Ponds" were safely in their beds, trying to get some sleep before the morning.

o.O.0.O.o

Meanwhile, on his way home, Brian started thinking. Why had he blown up like that? He is normally much more contained. Maybe the long week of planning this party was getting to him. Or maybe, just maybe, it was something else. It had almost surprised him when Rory admitted to there being some truth to his suspicions. But what could it be?

He arrived home quicker than he expected. His plan now was to simply go to bed and wake up in the morning. But that's not what happened.

Brian could not sleep. He laid in bed staring at the ceiling for who knows how long. Images of the night kept flashing through his mind. _Amy and Rory's smiling faces at the party, the look on the Doctor's face when he spoke of old friends now gone, Rory's expression when he heard River come in, fear, excitement, nerviness, and there was something else there too. Something familiar yet something he had never seen on his son's face before._

No, he must stop thinking about these things if he's ever going to get some sleep. But it was no use. Brian finally gave up on sleep and decided to go on a walk. "Maybe the fresh air will do me some good."

**A/N: So there it is, chapter 2. Let me know what you thought. The next chapter will finally get to some River-Brian interaction. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you guys once again for the amazing response, all the favorites, followers and reviews. It really means so much to me to know that people are reading and enjoying this story. In this chapter we finally get to some River/Brian talk (a.k.a. the main plot). Enjoy**

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who and its characters do not belong to me. They belong to the BBC and those who were hired by them to work on the show which I am not one of.  
**

_BUZZ… BUZZ… BUZZ... BUZZ…_

Amy rolled over to hit the alarm. _It can't be time already_. _Is something burning? _When she rolled back around, she found that Rory wasn't there. He must have gotten up earlier.

_I wonder if he got any sleep. I wonder if I got any sleep._

Reluctantly, she got out of bed and got ready for the day. When she was ready, she headed down stairs. On her way down, she heard something she was not expecting to find this early in the morning, laughter. This was not just quiet laughing but whole hearted laughter.

Amy followed the laughter down the hall until it led her straight into the kitchen. What she saw, warmed her heart. Rory and River were cooking _together_. And then, she saw the mess.

Rory followed her eyes, "Uh… I can explain. You see, I wanted to make a nice breakfast for us all and then River came in and asked if she could help. I guess I figured that she might have learned some cooking skills in the last few decades but…"

"Just have it all… decent by the time Brian gets here, Okay?"

"Yes Ma'am" Rory replied with a nod and a smile.

Amy decided she would make sure the rest of the house was picked up from last night. On her way back to the kitchen, she saw something moving in front of the house. She quickly moved to the window to get a better look. As she peeked out, she could just make out a short man with light hair pacing.

She opened the door and asked, "Brian, how long have you been out here?"

"I'm not sure to be honest. I needed a bit of fresh air early this morning and ended up here."

"You can come in now if you want. Rory and River _should _be just cleaning up from making breakfast. Why don't you come and join us?"

Brian took her offer and followed her into the house. He was not met with the pleasant smell that normally accompanied his son's cooking. The smell that greeted him was a mixture of burnt toast and coffee.

"Rory, Brian's here" Amy called down the hall.

As they turned into the kitchen, they were greeted by a sight much better than the smell from the door. Four plates were set around the table, each with an egg in a basket on it. Coffee was sitting in a pot next to four mugs.

"Good morning Brian. I'm just finishing the washing. Why don't you take a seat? I'll be with you in a mo."

Brian sat down, facing the rest of the kitchen. Rory came in and sat across from his dad. "Morning dad. How'd you sleep?"

"Not well I'm afraid. I had a lot on my mind. Which reminds me, I wanted to apologies for my out-burst last night. I don't know what came over me. And I'm very sorry River that you had to see that. I guess I was just tiered from my long week."

"Does that mean we can forget about what happened last night" Rory asked, hopefully.

"I certainly cannot. If nothing else, I would at least like to know more about how you know River and, well, who she is."

"As a matter of fact, Brian, I was planning on telling you my story over breakfast. That is, if you wouldn't mind" said River, sitting down at the table.

Once everyone was seated with the coffee poured, she started her story.

"I was born in the 52nd century on an asteroid called Demon's Run. It was a military base and my mother was their prisoner. She had been kidnaped in order to get to me. You see, I'm not only human. Both my parents were human but my mother was exposed to the time vortex while pregnant with me. This gave me an extra strand of DNA, specifically Time Lord DNA. The people that kidnaped my mother believed that, due to my advanced DNA, they could make me into a weapon, a weapon to kill the Doctor.

"My mother was saved but I was taken. From this point I was taken to America where I was raised to be a weapon. At age 5 I escaped them and lived on the streets. I went looking for my parents but didn't know where to start, so I went to New York.

"As you can imagine, a little girl cannot live on her own in a place like New York City for very long. I was dying." River saw Amy stiffen at this and so quickly continued. "But one thing I remembered from my training was something special I could do. I had a way of cheating death. It was a part of my enhanced DNA. My body completely changes; it rewrites itself in a way. And that is just what I did.

"I guess the energy that came from that change allowed my kidnapers, the Silence, to find me. They sent me on a mission. I was supposed to befriend one of the Doctor's companions as a child so I could get close enough to kill him later on. So, they sent me to Leadworth, 1995."

River paused for a moment to see if Brian was still following. "But that would be Amy and Rory then?"

"Exactly" River agreed. "My job was to befriend young Amy and Rory. And so, I did. I used my birth name, Melody, but had to think up a last name. The name I picked was Zucker. _Mels Zucker_"

"But… you're… I mean, you're Mels? Little black girl Mels? Amy and Rory's best friend, _that _Mels?"

"One and the same" answered River with a small smile and a nod.

The pieces were coming together in Brian's head. Amy _had_ called River Mels because she was, is, Mels. The familiarity between Amy, Rory and River that he had seen last night was because they were old friends, very old friends. They had known each other for nearly 20 years. But how had she gone from Mels, his Mels, to this woman, River Song?

"So, that means that you did the changy thing again then. And what happened with your training kill the Doctor?"

"Yes, I did change again. I'm getting to that, all of that."

Before she continued, Rory offered everyone more coffee while Amy took the plates to the sink to be washed later. Brian, on the other hand, was simply trying to wrap his mind around what he had just been told. It might have made since, but that did not make it easy to understand.

**A/N: Yeah! Brian knows that River is Mels! Just so you know, I had a lot of fun writing River's story from her perspective. Also, there is still more plot to unfold. I am very open to constructive criticism by the way. I'm still learning how to write things like this.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who is owned by the BBC not me... But, I bet you knew that. ;-)**

"So, I grew up with Amy and Rory. They became the best friends I had ever had. Many times it seemed like they were raising me."

She gave a small, knowing smile to her parents and then continued.

"At times I forgot I was still in the care of the silence. I almost forgot why I was there in the first place. Almost.

"When Amy came to me and told me that she had met the doctor again, I started making plans. Even though I knew it would break my p... best friends' hearts, I had a job to do.

"It was not until almost 4 years later that I finally met him. I met Amy's raggedy doctor she always talked about. And I was ready. I stole a car and was on my way to complete my mission.

"After that, a lot of long boring events took place and long story short; we ended up in Berlin 1938. We sort of crash landed in Hitler's office." Rory rolled his eyes, knowing why she was skipping that part of the story. "Hitler at the time was being attacked by a time-traveling robot sent from the future to punish criminals."

She said this with such ease it would make you think it was every day for her. The truth is it probably is, or at least every-other day.

"So he picked up his gun and shot at his attacker. But he missed. He shot me instead. That's when I changed again, into this body.

"Once that was all over I had a job to complete. I poisoned the Doctor with a kiss and set out into a new town."

"But, the Doctor, he is still alive, isn't he?" Brian cut in, slightly alarmed. "He couldn't have died then, I met him! Unless… unless I met a younger him. But Amy and Rory would have told me right?" he asked looking at them.

"Just let River finish her story" Rory suggested.

"I'd say the Doctor you met was probably an older one… but I'm getting ahead of myself. I was followed into the city by the robot. Its new goal was to punish _me_ for killing the Doctor. It captured me and was about to start the execution process but the Doctor, that impossible man, he ordered them to stop and they did. He was dying and he took the time to save me, his murderer" River explained, each word carrying more emotion then the one before. Amy and Rory were drawn in by her story. Though they were there when it took place, they had never heard it from their daughter's point of view. They were taken back by how much love and forgiveness shone from her eyes as she talked.

Brian's eyes, however, shone of confusion and a longing to get some answers, so River quickly continued. "After I was saved, the Doctor showed me how to save Amy and Rory. It was only after all this that I saw the Doctor as more than a target. I realized he could truly be as wonderful as Amy had said and what I was raised to believe about him could all be a lie. I didn't know what to believe any more. I didn't even know who I was.

"But the whole time the Doctor was dying, he kept calling out for one person, a "River". She was a mystery to me. Finally, with his last breath, the Doctor gave me a message to give to River Song once I found her. He said…" she paused for a moment to compose herself. "He said, 'I trust you with my life'.

"I just couldn't stand this mystery any longer so I asked Amy to tell me who this mysterious woman was. I had my suspicions but was still shocked when I found the truth. She was me. The Doctor trusted me with his life, his murderer. So I did the only thing I knew I could do to save that wonderfully mad man. I gave the rest of my lives to him, to bring him back." River stopped, the weight of her words hanging in the air. After a minute she looked up, gave a small smile and ended with a simple, "And that is my story."

Brian finally opened his mouth to speak but closed it again quickly. He sat there like a gapping fish for a second before he could say anything. But his mind was full enough. _Mels was River! River was Mels. The Doctor knew and trusted her? They met Hitler. The Doctor died. Mels, no River, saved him. _

Since Brian was being unusually quiet, Rory started to finish clearing up. River got up with him and said, "I think I'll let you just sit with your thoughts a while Brian."

As she got to the sink she felt a hand on her arm. She turned and saw her father mouth two words, thank you. She smiled back at him to let him know it was her pleasure.

Brian got up and moved to where they were standing in the kitchen. "Why don't we get more comfortable? I would love to know what you've been up to lately Mels."

River smiled at his use of her old name. She was not really fond of it in itself but, especially coming from Brian, it held a special place in her heart.

**A/N: We made it to the end of River's story. :-) I liked the idea of Brian getting to know what happened to Mels and that she didn't just fall off the face of the planet... not really. Anywho, what did you think?**

**P.S. In the next chapter there will be something which I'm hoping will be a bit of a surprise for you all. **


	5. Chapter 5

So they all slowly moved to the living room. They arrived in the entry way just in time to see the door fly open and a gangly man with a large suitcase rush in behind it. "Sorry it took so long. I just popped off to grab some stuff I'll need if I'm staying here for a while but the TARDIS insisted on bringing me back today instead of last night so here I am. Oh, and look. The Ponds, all four of you together. Were you having a family meeting or something? I hope it's not about me." Said the Doctor upon entering the house and then grabbed them all into a large group hug.

"What do you mean you're staying here for a while?" Asked River as she tried to untangle herself from the hug.

"He's staying with you? Why and for how long?" Brian added.

"Last night he asked to stay and… I said yes. He's just gonna stay until the cubes stop whatever they're doing" said Amy as Rory showed the Doctor where to put his bag.

_Well this certainly changes things _thought Brian. _I wonder how this will turn out. He's been here less than a minute and things have already gotten weird, family hugs and all that. Wait, did he say…_

As Rory and the Doctor returned Brian could not help but ask, "Doctor, why did you say the _four_ Ponds?"

The whole room stiffened though the Doctor seemed oblivious to it. "Well I wasn't counting myself obviously. Just Amy, Rory, River and you Brian. And though I know you don't conceder yourself a Pond, you are one to me."

"What did you say?" Brian asked.

"You are a Pond to me…"

"No, not that. You said Amy, Rory, me and _River._ How is River a Pond?"

"Well I guess technically she is a Williams. Though, just like you, she's always been a Pond to..." and then he finally noticed the faces around him. "Oh, you meant… Ahhh… Oops… Spoilers?"

"Yeah" both Amy and Rory said.

Just minutes before Brian was sure he finally understood who River was but once again there was something about her he did not know that affected his son and daughter-in-law. How was she a Pond, or a Williams for that matter? Brian could not stand it anymore. He felt lied to, betrayed. He turned to Rory, hurt in his eyes, and asked, "What does he mean? Is there something River left out of her story?"

Seeing Brian like this brought Rory to realize there was no way out this time. They had to tell him the terrible yet amazing truth, the truth about their daughter. Rory gently led Brian to a chair and sat him down. How was he supposed to say this? Why was it so hard?

"Dad," he started. "Remember in River's story she said she was born on demons run because her mum was a prisoner there? Well," he took a deep breath and wiped his face with his hands before continuing. "That woman was Amy." Rory paused to look at his father's expression. "Dad, River isn't just a friend, she's not just Mels, she's my daughter." Brian was sitting there as if ready for his son start laughing and tell him it was all a joke. But when that didn't happen, when Rory's face stayed so serious, his face dropped, searching his brain to put the pieces together or to find some evidence. Which one he wanted more, he wasn't sure.

He ended up finding both. _The look on Rory's face when he saw them together in the kitchen this morning. That was the same look he saw last night that he could not place, a look of fatherly love and pride. She was not just a friend but their own flesh and blood, his flesh and blood. The Doctor calling them the four Ponds. At last he remembered the piece that convinced him. River had called for her mum and dad when she arrived yesterday. _

His face of confusion slowly split into a small smile. _Granddaughter. She was his Granddaughter. He had a Granddaughter. Amy and Rory had a daughter._ And then once again, his face fell. For the first time he put Rory and Amy in the heartbreaking story of River's past and all at once it became so much more personal. "My mother was a prisoner"_. Amy was the prisoner. _"I was raised to be a weapon." _They turned his granddaughter into a weapon. _"My mother was saved but I was taken." _Amy was saved but River was taken. "_I was dying." _His granddaughter, his son's daughter, had died, twice. _He remembered the looks of pain on both Rory and Amy's faces as River told the story of her death. _That was their daughter._

"Dad!" Rory said for the third time, just now breaking through his father's thoughts. Brian looked up, an almost blank expression on his face. "Are you Ok?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" was all he could say.

"Amy and I discussed it a while back and decided it would simply cause you more pain and confusion than we thought you should have to go through. Plus, you didn't even really know about the Doctor until recently. I mean, Amy and I have traveled with him for almost 10 years and there are still times that it's hard for _us_ to accept."

Brian could tell that his son was struggling to communicate what must be an extremely personal subject in a way that he could understand. As he looked back into Rory's eyes, what he saw surprised him. They were not the eyes of a young man, they were old. There was wisdom and knowledge, grief and sorrow. But there was also joy and contentment. His eyes, for a second it seemed, held the weight of what could have been thousands of years. And then it was gone.

"When… how long ago did this happen for you?" Brian asked.

Rory sighed, thinking of what to say. "Um… Amy met River for the first time soon after she started traveling with the Doctor and I met her soon after, so that would be about 10 years ago now. But Amy was not…" Rory's demeanor changed slightly to a more pained expression as he went on. "Amy was not kidnapped until almost a year later. That's when Melody was born and that's when we found out River was our daughter. About two years later we found out that she was also Mels. But it's only recently that she has started coming to visit" Rory finished.

**A/N: Surprise! The Doctor arrived! Hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you thought. **

**There's only one more chapter after this. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So here we are, you and me, on the last chapter. **

**Sorry! I couldn't help myself. Anywho, thanks to all the responses from the last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, its characters or the story lines from the show. It belongs to the BBC and those who put it together. **

**(P.S. I'm going to start this chapter with the last to paragraphs of the last chapter for context. So if something seems strangely familiar you have probably read it before and if not, you might want to quickly review the last chapter. I'll be quiet now)**

"When… how long ago did this happen for you?" Brian asked.

Rory sighed, thinking of what to say. "Um… Amy met River for the first time soon after she started traveling with the Doctor and I met her soon after, so that would be about 10 years ago now. But Amy was not…" Rory's demeanor changed slightly to a more pained expression as he went on. "Amy was not kidnapped until almost a year later. That's when Melody was born and that's when we found out River was our daughter. About two years later we found out that she was also Mels. But it's only recently that she has started coming to visit" Rory finished.

Though this was obviously not easy for Rory to say, it took noticeably less struggle to explain then it would for an everyday person but Rory Williams was no longer an everyday person. This led Brian to ask, "How do you cope with this?"

Rory sighed once more but this time not because he was thinking about what to say but rather, he was thinking about how long it took them before they could even cope _this_ well. It had been a long journey. He remembered when River took both him and Amy home after the Doctor had left them on Demon's Run.

When River had finally thought they were well enough for her to leave, though he wanted some time alone to grieve, Rory could not stand the thought of her leaving so soon. As she reached her hand out for the door knob, he grabbed it. "River… Melody," he said, trying out her birth-name for the first time. It felt strange but yet somehow just felt right, like it belonged there. "Please... I…. I can't. Please don't leave yet. I don't want you to leave yet." She turned to him, a small smile spreading over her lips. "Of course I'll stay. However long you need." She slowly slipped her hand into his and together they headed back into the house.

He remembered the first time she came after that. She was so young. It was a shock to Amy and Rory and a shock for River as well when she found out how new the idea of her as their daughter was to them.

It was a hot summer's day. So hot in fact that no one was in the mood to do much of anything. Amy and Rory were both sitting in the kitchen, trying to stay cool when they heard someone at the door. There was no knock and no bell but what sounded like a key trying to open the door. Rory got up to see what was going on. _Who would be trying to come into his house without knocking? _ He approached the hall cautiously, ready to defend himself and his wife if need be. As he turned the corner to see the door, he jumped. There he saw a woman with a mass of curls sitting atop her head tuned away from him, shutting the door. _River! Melody… _he thought, but the words refused to come.

When she turned she was clearly surprised to see Rory standing there. "Hello Dad" she greeted him as she had a hundred of times before. But his response was not one she had received a hundred times before. He stood there staring at her, with a slight twitch in his lip. _Dad… _he had never been called that before, at least not by his 's face fell to one of distress and confusion but it was quickly hidden as she moved toward her father. "Sorry, you caught me by surprise. I thought you were someone else" she half lied. She was expecting him, just a different him. "Hello Ror…"

But before she could finish greeting her father once again, he closed the distance between them, wrapping her in his arms. "I… I know who you are" Rory choked out. "You've… you've just never called me dad before."

River stiffened in her father's embrace. _How early is this,_ she wondered. "Do you mind me calling you that?" she asked never having thought to ask before. Did he mind? Rory slowly slipped out of the hug, sliding his hands down to hold both of her arms. He stood there for a moment just thinking.

_Was he ready to accept that this woman was his daughter? That this time traveling archeologist from the future was his little girl… that this no longer little girl was the life he helped to create? _As his gaze finally met hers he saw the little bits of anxiousness and fear she could not hide caused by his pause. "River… Melody," he started, words coming easier now. "You are and will always be my daughter. And now that I know that, I would be honored if you called me dad."

He remembered when he found out that Mels was River, that he grew up with his daughter. He remembered watching her die. He remembered leaving her at The Sisters of the Infinite Schism, not wanting to leave, yet having faith that she could make it on her own.

There were days of joy, holidays, birthdays full of smiles and fun and family. There were days of pain, when Amy's arms longed for the baby she would never be able to hold again, when Rory blamed himself for their lost days with their daughter. At times both Amy and Rory would proudly hang pictures of both River and Mels throughout the house. Other times, those pictures were taken down due to the sorrow the missing baby pictures brought. On days when one of them was feeling the pain of not being able to have a baby, the other would kindly remind them of the amazing life they had created together, their daughter. But through it all, no matter how crazy or broken it may appear, they had come out a family.

So, how had they coped?

"Time" was Rory's simple response.

Just then, as Rory looked up, he caught a glimpse of curls from the archway followed by River hesitantly entering the room. "Is everything alright?" Rory asked after making eye contact with his daughter.

"I came to ask you the same thing" she replied.

"I think we're getting there. We'll just need a few more minutes" added Rory, remembering his father's current state of mind.

River nodded understandingly and turned to leave. But before she made it out she was stopped by someone calling her name. It was Brian. She turned to him, "Yes Brian".

"Could you actually come in here for a moment?" Brian asked.

This threw Rory off. What did his father want River here for? He wanted his father to understand this and maybe River could help. But at the same time, he didn't want River getting hurt. Though he knew Brian could in no way harm his daughter physically, he also knew that she had dealt with enough emotional and psychological pain to last more than one life time.

As River approached Brian, Rory watched them carefully. He was ready to step in, if he had to, in order to keep those he loved from pain. But neither Rory nor River were prepared for what happened next.

Brian quickly got out of his seat to meet River. Once he reached her he did not stop. He kept going until she was engulfed in his embrace. River quickly accepted this sign of acceptance and returned it as well. After a few moments, Brian reluctantly pulled out of the hug to look his granddaughter in the face. With all the millions of things that were running through his head at the moment, there was only one thing to say, "Hello Melody".

River smiled and, grabbing his arm, relied, "Hello Granddad."

Rory stood aside, watching this moment unfold. He was truly in awe. Why this was affecting him so much, he had no idea. But there it was, his dad… his dad holding his daughter. And for once there was no confusion, no spoilers, no worries. There was only family.

**A/N: So there it is, the conclusion. This chapter got away from me a bit and became a bit River/Rory centric. I hope you don't mind. Let me know what you thought about both this chapter and the story as a whole. Did I leave anything unresolved? I would love to know if I could make ether this or my next story any better. **

**Thanks again for the amazing response. I never would have guessed so many would enjoy this. You guys keep me going and have encouraged me to keep writing. **


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